Roofing device and method



April 15, 1969 w rr 3,438,170

ROOFING DEVICE AND METHOD Filed Dec. 5, 1966 Sheet of 2 i I l I l I FlGi H 1 33 w P f FlG.5

INVENTOR.

BOYCE ROBERT WHITE April 15, 1969 a. R. WHlTE 3,438,170

ROOFING DEVICE AND METHOD Filed Dec. 5, 1966 Sheet 2 of 2 F IG. 4 mush-roe BOYCE ROBERT WHITE A TTORNEXS United States Patent 0 US. Cl. 52-748 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Roofing materials are applied by a device that has a notched bar extending from the ridge of a roof down towards the eaves. An elongated guide extending parallel to the line of shingles to be laid, receives a row of shingles or the like in upright position. The guide has pins which cooperate with the notches of the bar when the guide is rotated to lay a row of shingles and to receive the next row of shingles. As the guide is rotated up the slope of a roof, suceeding rows of shingles are laid and held under the guide for fastening.

This invention relates to a device and method for applying roofing materials to a roof. More particularly, this invention relates to a guide device which receives and lays a row of shingles on a roof and a method for applying these shingles all in a row of properly spaced shingles which are held in position for fastening to the roof.

One of the current trade practices of shingling a sloped roof with the popular 12" by 36" asphalt strip shingle is to strike chalk lines horizontally every ten inches from eaves to ridge. Vertical chalk lines are struck on the roof often enough to assure proper vertical alignment of shingle slots or cutouts. The first row or course of shingles is correctly placed by aligning the butts of the shingles at the bottom of the roof along the eavesdrip. The second course of shingles is aligned by holding the top of each shingle along the first horizontal chalk line. The third course is aligned holding the butts of the shingles flush with the top of the five-inch cutouts of the shingles of the preceding course. The fourth course is aligned along the second horizontal chalk line and so on. The foregoing applies to the conventional asphalt strip shingles which measure twelve inches from top to bottom and which overlap one another five inches when fastened to a roof. Such shingles are normally a yard long with several five-inch long vertical slots or cutouts at their lower portions. Every course of shingles is offset or staggered from the preceding row by six inches.

Vertical chalk lines are struck in parallel pairs, one line being spaced from the other line in a pair by six inches so that succeeding courses are staggered six inches when alternate courses are aligned with one chalk line and intervening courses are aligned with the second chalk line. The first course of shingles is laid double and succeeding courses are each laid to present a five-inch exposure. Each shingle is normally fastened to the roof with nails or staples, one nail or staple being placed about one inch above each slot or cutout, and one nail or staple at each end of shingle (four in all).

There are several serious disadvantages of current roofing practice which are overcome by the present invention. First of all, the present practice is time consuming and fatiguing to the workers doing the shingling. Each chalk line and each shingle must be placed individually and each shingle must be held individually in alignment with reference to a mark when being fastened. Generally, all of these steps are carried out in the kneeling or squatting position. A hourse of normal size will require eight hours or more to single when the work is done by at least two skilled tradesmen.

The present invention eliminates much of the drudgery of shingling, saves considerable time and can be practiced by practically anyone using a simple device. This device includes notched guide bar means which is placed and firmly held vertically on a slopping roof surface. An elongated member having an even number of sides is provided with a pin or the like to cooperate with the notches on the guide bar means. This elongated member is used to receive and support a row of shingles in an upright position. As the elongated member is rotated and traveled up the slope of the roof, rows of shingles placed end-to-end are successively laid on the surface of the roof in proper alignment. The pins of the elongated member fit in the notches of the guide means to hold the elongated member in correct register while the previously laid row of shingles is fastened to the roof.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the difliculties experienced in the current practice of shingling sloped roofs. This object and other advantages will be apparent from the following description and drawings.

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a roof being shingled with the device of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the device of FIGURE 1 showing a row of shingles being supported and held upright preparatory to being laid in a course on a roof while preceding course is being held in position for fastening.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the elongated member.

FIGURE 4 is a section view taken along the lines 4-4.

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of a shingle section.

In FIGURE 1, the roof 1 has already been shingled with several courses of shingles 3 and a complete vertical pass of shingles at left. A horizontal rod 5 can be fastened along the ridge of the roof to be used to support one or more guide bars 7. It is preferred to use two guide bars which are vertically placed on the roof parallel to each other. As seen in FIGURE 2, each guide bar 7 is provided with a series of notches 9 which are spaced apart a predetermined distance depending on the dimensions of the shingles being laid. The guide bars are best fashioned from extruded aluminum channel bars, but wood, steel and other materials can be used. With asphalt strip shingles twelve-inches wide, the distance between the center of each notch is five inches so that each course of shingles will overlap or be overlapped by its neighboring course by seven inches.

The eavesdrip 11 can be used to correctly position the guide bar 7 when an eave stop guide 13 on bar 7 is abutted against drip 11. As seen in FIGURE 1, a horizontal rod 5 can be fastened to the ridge of the roof and guide bar 7 suspended from the rod. For extra convenience and safety, one or more swivel straps 15 can be fastened to the roof to provide extra support for the guide bar 7. These straps can be fastened to the roof deck so as to swivel outwardly from underneath the shingle tabs without damage to the tabs. Also nail holes can be provided in the bottom surfaces of the guide bars for direct attachment to the roof deck.

Referring again to FIGURE 2, an elongated member 17 is used to position the shingles 19 being laid and to hold these shingles upright before they are laid on the roof. It is preferred but not essential that the elongated member 17 have an even number of sides 21 (FIGURE 3) as will be explained hereafter. Each side 21 is provided with support means 25, preferably in the form of a curved or bent-up portion which extends as a lip along the entire length of each side. At one or preferably both ends 23 of the elongated member, one or more pins 27 are provided to extend beyond the ends of member 17. It is preferred that each corner of each end 23 of member 17 have a pin and that the pins be retained in the lip ends as shown.

Elongated member 17 can be square in cross section with each side and lip being five inches wide. FIGURE 3 shows a four-sided elongated member with lips 25. Indicia in the form of straight lines approximately twelve inches apart are provided on each side and the indicia lines on neighboring sides are offset from one another by six inches. In FIGURE 4, each lip holds a pin 27 and at the bottom of each lip a stop 29 is located, each stop being generally located at the outside of the indicia lines. Thus the stops associated with neighboring sides of mem ber 17 are offset with respect to one another by about six inches. A row of shingles 19 can abut stop 29 so that the shingles stand upright end-to-end as seen in FIGURE 2. Each next and succeeding row of shingles will therefore be staggered as member 17 is rotated to travel up guide bar 7.

At the ends of member 17 there are double indicia lines about two inches apart, as shown in FIG. 3. When conventional strip shingles are used, double indicia lines can be spaced along member 17 every three feet. The purpose of the indicia lines are simply to indicate to the worker operating the stapler the exact spot he is to touch down a stapler which is just above each cutout and slightly in from and above cutouts at shingle joints. The two ends of each three-foot strip shingle normally is stapled and staples are also placed one above each of the two middle cutouts so there are four staples to each shingle. Thus with the exception of the double indicia lines which indicate the shingle joints directly below, the indicia lines are approximately twelve inches apart.

It will be appreciated that as member 17 is rotated, a row of shingles 19 is laid down to overlap the top seven inches of a preceding course of shingles. Upon rotation of member 17, a pin 27 is rotated in a notch 9 and another pin falls into the next notch 9 above and a row of shingles is dropped and held in position on the roof for fastening.

In my preferred embodiment, the elongated member 17 Will have an even number of sides so that the courses of shingles will be staggered as seen in FIG. 1. As illustrated herein, member 17 has four sides of substantially equal width and each side at the ends of the elongated member will have pin means 27 to be received in the notches of the guide bar. The member 17 can be conveniently made of a single piece of sheet aluminum, steel or other material which is bent into a column to be square in cross section. Each corner of the column can be crimped so that an elongated lip of, say one-half inch wide, is provided along the edge of each column. The lip can be further bent upwardly and a pin secured to each corner at the ends of the column. The length of the column can be made conveniently to nineteen feet in length so that six shingles, each three feet long, can be supported in the lip to abut one another and the next row of shingles will be offset by six inches. Also, with a column nineteen feet long, sufficient space is left to allow for the interlocking of adjoining shingles when laid.

It will be understood that member 17 is preferably even-sided so that shingles can be laid in a pattern as shown in the drawings. In fact, however, member 17 can have an odd number of sides since it is only necessary that the joints of shingles be offset from neighboring courses so that water can be properly shed.

FIGURE shows a strip shingle 33 having three tabs divided by two cutouts 35.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the elongated member 17 can be made in sections which telescope. Thus, one or more male sections can be made to fit within a female section from one or both sides to allow for adjustments in the length of member 17.

It will be understood that the term shingle as used herein means a shingle section or other roofing materials which can be laid on a roof in proper alignment. Thus all types of shingles in addition to sheathing, felts and roll roofing are applicable.

In operation, the description given herein applies principally with shingles on straight runs although the application of the concepts expressed herein will be useful in shingling hips, valleys and other roof surfaces. It has been found that a roof, which normally requires two men eight or more hours to shingle, can be completed in about one-third of that time by the same number of workers using this invention. Also, one man can work more efficiently with the present invention than is the case using prior practices.

The first course of double layered shingles is laid at the bottom of the roof with guide bars 7 aligned with the eavesdrip as seen in FIGURE 1. It will be understood that guide bars 7 extend beyond the eaves of the roof to permit application of the first row of shingles. Then, six asphalt shingles can be positioned end-to-end in the lip of member 17 and the member rotated about the leading pin to pivot about a five-inch center in notch 9. The second row of shingles is laid on the roof with the upper seven-inch portions exposed for fastening. With member 17 held firmly in correct alignment by the two bottom pins 27 in notches 9, the first worker can load another upright row of shingles in lip 25 while the second worker fastens the previously laid shingles to the roof. Many shingles are not manufactured to exact specification and the first worker can abut the first shingle against stop 29 in lip 25 and thereafter adjust the other five shingles to compensate for irregular shingles. The second worker can at the same time use a pneumatic stapler 40 (FIGURE 2) with a handle 41 and stand upright. In fact, both Workers can shingle a roof while in the upright position without constantly kneeling or squatting as in past practice. It will also be appreciated that stapler 40 can rest on member 17 and he slid along that member which acts as a guide. Member 17 also holds the last laid course of shingles in place while fastening is accomplished. In current practice, especially on roofs with steep slopes, it is necessary to hold each shingle in place while fastening same. The indicia lines 31 serve to indicate the location of previously laid shingles as well as to indicate the exact location each staple is to be inserted.

Although several specific embodiments have been described, it will be appreciated that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the basic concepts of this invention.

I claim:

1. A device for laying shingles and other roofing materials such as sheathing, felts -and roll roofing, comprising notched guide bar means to be placed on a sloped roof, an elongated member for positioning in cooperative association with said guide bar means, pin means secured to at least one outer end of said member for insertion in the notches of said guide bar means, the elongated edges of said member comprising support means for receiving shingles in an upright position, whereby said elongated member can be rotated to lay down shingles and said pin means is accommodated in said notches of said guide bar means to correctly position said shingles as said elongated member is rotated and traveled along said guide bar means.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said guide bar means is comprised of a pair of notched guide bars which are spaced apart and arranged generally parallel to one another and both outer ends of said elongated member have pin means protruding outwardly from each corner, said pin means being received in the notches of said guide bars.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said elongated memher has four sides of equal width and said pin means is comprised of a pin which protrudes from each corner on each end of said member.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said elongated edges comprise bent-up extensions of the sides of said elongated member which extensions receive a row of shingles whereby said shingles are positioned generally upright and lean back against said elongated member.

5. The device of claim 3 wherein a generally horizontal rod is afiixed to the roof and said guide bars are supported by said rod.

6. The device of claim 3 wherein said elongated edges comprise upwardly projecting lips and a stop for said shingles is positioned in said lips.

7. The device of claim '6 wherein the stops of succeeding lips are ofiset with respect to one another whereby said rows of shingles are laid in staggered relationship to one another.

8. The device of claim 3 wherein said elongated member is marked with indicia to indicate the location of shingles laid in the preceding rows.

9. A method of laying a plurality of shingles on a roof comprising the steps of positioning a. row of unfastened shingles upright and end-toend along a substantially horizontal line adjacent said roof, causing said shingles to fall together along a predetermined, substantially straight line on said roof, positioning a succeeding row of unfastened shingles in generally upright position above said first mentioned row of shingles to overlap same and retaining said first mentioned row of shingles in place while fastening same on said roof, and thereafter positioning successive rows of unfastened shingles in generally upright position along a substantially straight line causing said successive rows of shingles to fall on said roof and overlap preceding courses of shingles a predetermined amount until the roof is shingled.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,170,521 2/1916 Faison 52748 1,549,671 8/1925 Kridler et al. 52-749 1,917,930 7/1933 Fischer 52748 1,941,404 12/1933 Lansing 52747 2,013,330 9/1935 Abraham 52528 2,892,192 6/1959 Thyer 52-748 3,245,192 4/1966 Hilson 52748 FRANCIS K. ZUGEL, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 52-749 

